More Pig Toupees Than You Can Shake a Stick At

Babe: Pig in the City is without a doubt one of the strangest films I have ever seen. It's only tangentially related to the eponymously titled Babe from three years prior and is light years more bizarre. Where the first film was a wholesome "underdog turns hero" romp performed by a futuristic breed of Julliard-trained animal actors (or animactors) this "sequel" is like the fever dream experienced by Farmer Hoggett after eating too much fungus-laden cornmeal. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it but I just didn't quite know what to make of it.

That's because you're a Philistine and a nincompoop. Babe: Pig in the City is as flawless a film as has ever blessed the world. Babe (Original Version) was a lovely, but somewhat-boring, morality tale that played it safe at every turn while this revelation improves on the first in almost every way. It nearly explodes at the seams with absurdity creating a real live cartoon using animation-quality humans and talking animals in hairpieces. There are laughs galore as well as edge-of-your-seat action sequences that will leave you breathless. There are hilarious scenes of mice singing silly songs that are sure to please the kids (and the more erudite adults in the audience) alongside world class puns, e.g. the monkey's name is Thelonious! And let's not forget the chills and spills. And thrills. This film makes bungee jumping cool again and you'll be amazed at the way it toys with your emotions. I for one was agog at how deftly the director made me empathize with a dog I had only moments before hoped would die in some sort of horrible flame-filled death.

Yeah, that scene was a bit much, not only for the children viewing the movie but the elders as well. Watching that poor dog nearly drown was excruciating and I'm not even much of a dog person.

Well, he got what was coming to him but you're right, it was agonizing. My chants of "Die, doggy, die!" were quickly muffled by my blubbering as I bit my pillow and hoped against hope that the little guy would live.

It seemed to go on way too long, almost torturing the audience as we waited for Babe to do the right thing and save the cretinous soul from a watery death. Actually, many of the scenes in this film overextended their welcome. For the most part it was enjoyable but it also left me feeling spent.

Exactly - you're left with that unmistakable happy-sad feeling. I felt the way I imagine a hiker would feel when they finally reached the pinnacle of Mt. Everest after years of training. Once all your dreams are fulfilled, you have to learn to balance that joy with the realisation that you are now an empty shell looking for a home.

You've lost me completely. I can't say I agree with your reaction to the movie but I did like a lot of it. It was inventive and odd and full of strange little touches like the way the skyline in the city was an amalgamation of several famous cityscapes and the way it seemed to exist out of time with references to the late 18th century, the 1930s and the future all at once. It was certainly an unexpected pleasure with the emphasis on unexpected.

As memorable a film as you'll see in a lifetime. A perfect 10. A hidden gem to be treasured forever.

Here are three fun facts about the film courtesy of Wikipedia.
1. George Miller, who made Mad Max, also directed this. Both movies feature dystopian hellscapes where law has no sway.
2. It, like its predecessor Babe, was banned in Malaysia. For what reason I do not know.
3. Babe: Pig in the City was also Gene Siskel's choice for Best Movie of 1998.

Ahh, Mr. Siskel. A gentleman and a scholar. As Billy Joel once said, "Only the good die young."